Attention! Only if you dream about the future - you are not aware of yourself. In the event that you remember past events, you are not aware of yourself. Now, if you look at something, for example, at your hands, or notice how air fills your lungs and leaves them, you feel your body, listen to the sounds around you, smell the air, understand what you are thinking now, what emotions you are experiencing - then you become aware of yourself. Awareness can vary in depth.
The deepest awareness will be when you can simultaneously see, hear, smell and feel, be aware of your thoughts or their absence, be aware of the emotions you are experiencing. Various sounds, smells, images and sensations are perceived by your subconscious all the time, but most of the time you are not aware of this information.
Mindfulness has the greatest power. Here are some of its manifestations:
Invulnerability.
When you are fully aware of yourself, you become invulnerable. Nobody can offend you. In the event that he is right - so why be offended, you know that. And if you know that he is wrong, it does not offend you, because you already knew it. Only if you are partly right, you realize that it is true and that it is not.
Only if people always behaved consciously, then there would be no quarrels, misunderstandings. Behaving with awareness means being open. Talk openly. Act openly. You can allow yourself to be open because you are invulnerable. You can act for the highest good of others, or for your highest good - you choose. The main thing is that as a result of conscious actions, it turns out that everyone wins. We are all one, so deliberate action is most beneficial for everyone.
Solution of problems
Promotional video:
In deep awareness, problems dissolve. Dealing with problems only makes them worse. Avoiding problems does not solve them, but leads to the fact that they only get worse and sooner or later appear (like a broken arm, sealed with a plaster. Awareness allows you to face the problem directly, look into its eyes, understand its true nature and dissolve it. generates an action, if necessary, and the action that is most effective in resolving the problem.
The significant problems we face cannot be solved with the same level of thinking in which we created them. Albert Einstein. Raising awareness helps solve problems.
Power.
When you act with awareness, you feel like the master of your life. You are the creator of your world. Events, people who surround you - all this is available only to you. Only you see things in this light and in this order. It would be a shame not to pay attention to this, because no one else can understand your world for you, see it as it is and make it better.
You probably already know that observation is constructive. What you pay most attention to becomes more and more a part of your life. Mindfulness allows you to use this Power of Creation.
Lucid dreaming
My current personal development goal is to experience lucid dreaming. I understand that developing awareness in the real world helps me to be more mindful of unusual details in my dreams. After analyzing my dreams, I realized that there is very little awareness in them - and this is a direct result of what I experience in the real world. I can focus on one thing and devote all my attention to it, but at this time I lose control and awareness of the larger picture. I don't often listen to the sounds that surround me. I don't often consider objects, clothing accessories, people, nature. The taste of food does not really matter to me at all, I often think about the benefits of what I eat, but also not always. It is not uncommon for me to not hear what I am told. My dreams are not very vivid, and so are my memories of the day I lived. Does this happen to you? These are all manifestations of lack of awareness.
beauty
Mindfulness helps you experience beauty more deeply. What a delight to look at something that the mind considers to be painted in one color, but which, with sufficient awareness of the present under the rays of the sun, acquires thousands of shades! Of course, it's easier to use your logic and say - this is white, this is dark blue, this is light blue. But what if you turn off logic and turn on consciousness? What will you see then?
Positive
Mindfulness allows you to experience a positive emotional state regardless of the circumstances. In the event that you have enough awareness, it will not be difficult for you to live with a smile on your face and a straight posture, so that it does not happen in life. By the way, this can be used as a test of awareness: how long can you stay with a smile on your face and a straight posture? Only if this is not your default state, then as soon as you stop being aware of yourself, the smile will disappear, and your back will bend.
Thought control
For a person with a low level of awareness, the very idea of controlling your thoughts, forcing yourself to think about what you want, seems impossible. However, the skill of focusing all your thoughts on one thing can be developed - and it develops in parallel with the development of awareness. How many seconds in a row can you think about lemon without interrupting other thoughts? It's good if you manage to do this within 5 seconds. But with the development of the skill, you can keep the thought for a minute, a few minutes. And now the question is - how long does it take to focus your thoughts on achieving your goal for it to be achieved for sure?
An accurate picture of the world
Do you know that each of us has his own picture of the world? Two people, being in the same environment and conditions, see the world differently. One goes out into the street in a blizzard, and he immediately wants to go back. Each gust of wind causes unpleasant sensations in him and only intensifies the desire to hide somewhere. Another comes out and says “eh - eh, good! »Every gust of wind enhances a smile on his face and self-confidence that he, a person, can overcome any obstacles, survive in any circumstances.
Anything that does not kill me makes me stronger (Nietzsche).
Being aware of your beliefs allows you to consciously choose what you believe in. Some beliefs strengthen you, for example, “I have a Unique gift that I can offer to the world”, “I have enough money to live”, “I always have a lot of time for important things”, “all people are one whole”. Other beliefs make you weaker in this world, for example, "I am capable of anything", "I do not have enough money", "I do not have enough time", "man is a wolf to man", "I do not deserve a promotion" and so on. Your view of the world is formed from your beliefs. Note that it is not the world itself that makes you strong or weak, but your picture of the world. By recognizing the beliefs that make you weaker and replacing them with beliefs that make you stronger, you actually become stronger, increasing your personal effectiveness.
Real man
What a pleasure it is to talk to a person who is here in the present. Who does not fly in the future, does not delve into the past, but talks to you, fully aware of what you just said, what he said, understands where you both are now, understands what is happening around. If you like such communication, you should stimulate it yourself. To be a person who is aware of what is happening, a real person.
How to use the Power of Mindfulness?
To achieve a state of deep awareness, it is enough to concentrate on the depth of one feeling. You can focus on maximizing your body awareness. You can concentrate on maximum awareness of sounds, in the limit - hear the voice of silence, even in the presence of other sounds. You can focus on the present moment, letting go of all thoughts about the past and the future. You can concentrate on being aware of your thoughts, at the limit - to be aware of the absence of thoughts.
Only if you can devote at least 10 minutes a day to raising your awareness - it's already great. However, this is something that can be done throughout the day. You can do this at the peak of your mental and physical abilities, you can do this when you are very tired - it does not matter, because you do not need either the mind or the body. The consciousness behind the mind and body exists. You can increase your mindfulness before bed to promote better relaxation and rest. Standing in line, waiting for something, wasting time usefully. During a conversation, listening as much as possible to the speech and intonation of the interlocutor, noticing the slightest gestures and eye movements, contributing to better understanding and empathy, the establishment of stronger and more trusting relationships. You can attract more awareness by doing any kind of business - and it will bring great benefits to both the business and you.
In addition to these short-term actions to increase your awareness and develop the habit of living consciously all the time, there are strategic actions suggested by Steve Pavlina in the article “10 Ways to Become More Conscious. Here they are, 10 ways, with my explanation.
10 ways to boost your awareness
1. truth raises consciousness, falsehood lowers it. Every time you accept the truth, encourage the truth, speak the truth, you increase your awareness.
2. courage increases consciousness, cowardice lowers it. Courage always requires a conscious effort. Nothing is required for the manifestation of cowardice - except that you close your eyes and hide in a corner. When making decisions, think about whether the decision requires courage. If not, perhaps you are just hiding from the problem, lowering your consciousness.
3. compassion raises awareness, cruelty lowers it. The manifestation of compassion can only occur in a state of awareness. The manifestation of cruelty can only occur in an unconscious state - it is unlikely that you want to consciously show cruelty. Indifference also occurs more often in an unconscious state - this is the default action. Compassion simply requires awareness. Learn to distinguish between the voice of consciousness and the voice of the mind - the mind can happen to find an excuse for any activity, even find benefit in the manifestation of cruelty. Listen to your heart, conscience - it's not for nothing that the words conscience and conscience in English sound very similar (Conscience and Consciousness.
4. desire increases consciousness, apathy lowers it. You can think for a long time about whether your desires are good or not, how good goals you have set, but the fact is that clearly defined desires increase consciousness. Only if desires are vague, there is no focus - consciousness goes down. Clear desires for action generate. Uncertain desires lead to apathy. A large number of desires without certainty, which you are realizing at the moment, lowers consciousness. Therefore, it is worth defining your goals and choosing one that is in the focus of your attention - this will increase your consciousness.
5. attention increases consciousness, absent-mindedness lowers it. Attention is the key to awareness. Attention to yourself, to your thoughts, emotions, to other people, to their mood, to words, to what is happening. All of this increases awareness. In a state of deep awareness, you are focused to the limit. By encouraging the manifestation of attention in everything, each time you become more and more conscious person.
6. knowledge increases consciousness, ignorance lowers it. Always strive to learn more, look for knowledge not only around yourself, but also within yourself - this increases consciousness. When you close your eyes to knowledge, you lower your consciousness.
7. Common sense raises awareness, inconsistency lowers it. Consciousness can increase even when you are not using your mind, for example, during meditation, when you are not thinking about anything. However, when you use your intellect, when you are judicious, you do more good to increase your awareness than when you are inconsistent in your reasoning.
8. Conscientious people raise awareness. Unconscious people lower it. Communication with people who live consciously and constantly raise their consciousness helps you to increase consciousness. People living less consciously will pull you to their level. You can choose the people with whom you live, work and communicate. Take this opportunity.
9. health and energy increase consciousness, illness and passivity decrease it. Laziness and passivity lower your consciousness and eventually lead to illness. Fill your every action with energy - and this will increase your consciousness.
10. the intention to raise awareness, increases it. The intention to lower consciousness lowers it. This is the power of intention - if you really want to raise your consciousness, life itself will tell you ways to do it. Consciousness can grow infinitely.
Two more simple but very effective ways to increase awareness are journaling and time keeping. Try to spend the next 24 hours as consciously as you can. Allow yourself to experience the delight of a conscious life.